'Big Brother Wants to Know About Your Horses'

Big Brother Wants to Know About Your Horses:
What Every Horse Enthusiast Needs to Know about the National Animal Identification System
By Judith McGeary¹

For several years, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been working with the large agricultural and technology companies to develop a “National Animal Identification System” (“NAIS”). Thousands of people who will be impacted by NAIS have been completely unaware of it before now, and many are still unclear on what it means for them. But every person who owns livestock animals, including horses, will be affected. NAIS is one of the most far-reaching acts of surveillance of the most wholesome activities of U.S. citizens.
What is NAIS?
On April 25, 2005, the USDA released “Draft Program Standards” (“Standards”) and a “Draft Strategic Plan” (“Plan”) concerning the NAIS. These documents provide for a three-step system:

1. Premises registration: Every person who owns or manages property with even one horse, chicken, cow, pig, sheep, goat, deer, elk, bison, or virtually any livestock animal, will be forced to register their home in a database under a 7-digit “premises ID number,” which will include GPS coordinates (Standards, pp. 3-4, 10-12; Plan, p. 5.)
2. Animal identification: Every animal will be assigned a 15-digit ID number, also to be kept in a database. The form of ID will most likely be a tag or microchip containing a Radio Frequency Identification Device. (Plan, p. 10; Standards, pp. 6, 12, 20, 27-28.) While the agencies claim that poultry and swine will get “group numbers,” most small farmers and companion-animal owners do not keep animals in ways that would qualify.
3. Animal tracking: The owner will be required to report to the government within 24 hours: every time a tag is applied, a tag is lost or replaced, an animal is killed or dies, or an animal is missing. Reports would also have to be filed every time an animal goes onto or off of a premises or commingles with animals from other premises. (Standards, pp. 12-13, 17-21.)

The bottom line for horse owners is that you will have to register with the government, tell them what animals you own, microchip every horse, and report whenever you take your horse to a show, on a trail ride, to the breeders, or almost any other place.

The bottom line for horse owners is that you will have to register with the government, tell them what animals you own, microchip every horse, and report whenever you take your horse to a show, on a trail ride, to the breeders, or almost any other place...
If the government can force everyone to identify and track every horse, chicken, or cow, why not cats and dogs?

While NAIS is currently limited to livestock animals, it lays a disturbing precedent. If the government can force everyone to identify and track every horse, chicken, or cow, why not cats and dogs? Indeed, the USDA recently proposed that the exact same microchip technology that is being promoted under NAIS become the “standard” for cats and dogs as well. (71 Fed. Reg. 12302 (Mar. 10, 2006)). This technology, ISO 11784/85, is not the type of microchip that has been generally used in pets in the United States to date. Thus, the USDA’s proposal to stop the use of other microchips, which are the dominant ones in the U.S. today, shows a complete disregard for the market and private individuals’ choices.
On April 6, 2006, USDA released additional documents to implement NAIS. Although the USDA repeatedly states that NAIS is now “voluntary,” it has set a goal of 100% premises registration, 100% animal identification for animals under 1 year of age, and 60% animal tracking for animals under 1 year of age by January 2009. (“Strategies for the Implementation of NAIS”, p.3) If these goals are not met, USDA threatens to adopt federal regulations making the program mandatory. In other words, the program is “voluntary” only if everyone complies. If not, we can expect the government to adopt regulations forcing us to comply. NAIS is not about allowing people to choose whether they’d like to microchip their horses for personal reasons; it is a government-mandated program that will force every horse owner to allow Big Brother into their barns and their lives.
The USDA also stated that the information collected under NAIS will be kept in assorted state government and private industry databases, to which the USDA will have access as needed. This partially-privatized system raises even more questions. Aside from the technological barriers to having multiple databases all accessible by the government, there are serious concerns about who will be running these databases. The next time you register your horse with your breed association, will your information be automatically available to the government? What extra fees will your association charge you for this privilege? Someone, after all, will have to pay for the databases, and a private entity will be entitled to a “fair profit,” at your expense.
How will this impact horses?
Horses are included under NAIS under the USDA’s Draft Plan. The Equine Species Working Group (ESWG) includes representatives from the largest horse associations and several large technology companies, and has given consistent support to the USDA’s inclusion of horses.
In December 2004, the ESWG submitted recommendations to the USDA regarding the application of NAIS to horses. (See http://www.horsecouncil.org/05%20ESWG%20Provides%20nitial%20Recommendations%20to%20USDA.doc, website last checked May 20, 2006). The very first recommendation states: “Any horses that are transported interstate, or commingled with other horses or livestock intrastate must be identified with an official form of identification.” The ESWG continues by recommending that “Horses are livestock, and should be held to the same standards as other livestock species.” (Recommendation #3). “When horses are transported interstate, intrastate when commingled with other horses or livestock, or to premises or events where a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) or other equine health papers such as Coggins are required, the movement must be reported to the appropriate USDA NAIS database(s).” (Recommendation #
10) The ESWG has even recommended specific technology, namely ISO compatible RFID chips, 11784/85. (See http://www.horsecouncil.org/equine%20id%20website/AHC%20ESWG%20Microchip%20Paper%209.23.05.htm, website last checked May 20, 2006)
This is not the type of microchip that has been generally used in horses in the United States for private purposes, and it emits on a different frequency, 134.2 kHz, rather than 125 KHz. Thus, as even the ESWG admits, most of the scanners and microchip readers in the U.S. today would not read or even detect these ISO chips. Every facility will have to buy new scanners in order to comply with the ESWG-recommended technology.
What will be the result?
The stated goal of this program is to address animal disease by providing 48-hour traceback of all animal movements. While this has some surface appeal, NAIS will do little or nothing to actually address the problem of diseases. NAIS does not address prevention or treatment of disease. NAIS does not address the problem of different vectors of transmission, such as the spread of West Nile Virus through mosquito bites or the spread of rabies through wild animals. And NAIS is simply not necessary. Horses already receive Coggins tests and health certificates, and we have established procedures for quarantines. If people wish to microchip their animals out of fear of theft or for any other reason, they are free to do so, without the existence of NAIS.
Indeed, the technology that will be mandated under NAIS will make horses more vulnerable. The ISO 11784/85 microchips, recommended by the ESWG, are designed to be reprogrammable. (See The Controversial ISO 11784/11785 Standard, ISO 11784/85: A Short Discussion, at http://www.rfidnews.com/iso_11784short.html (website last visited February 18, 2005)). In other words, if someone wants to steal your horse, or purposefully introduce a sick horse into an area, they could easily reprogram the microchip and completely prevent any tracking. The traditional methods of tracking will presumably be buried under this massive government program, leaving us vulnerable to thieves and other criminals.
The actual results of NAIS will be very harmful. NAIS will drive many of our small and medium-size farmers out of business, due to the expense and time involved in tagging every animal and filing the multitude of required reports. As a result, NAIS will also undermine the truly safe food supply, and true food security, that comes from having a diversified, local food supply. NAIS will increase the trend in agriculture towards consolidation of livestock ownership into the hands of a few large entities.
NAIS does not address the major source of foodborne illnesses, namely contamination at slaughterhouses and during food handling. And NAIS will raise the cost of food for everyone, because someone will have to pay for all of the microchips, radio tags, and database reports.
NAIS also represents the destruction of personal property and privacy rights. Legally, livestock animals are a form of personal property. The NAIS plan refers to a “national herd” (Plan, p.8), which clearly indicates the government’s vision: private ownership rights will be destroyed, and no one will be allowed to birth, hatch, own, or transfer any head of livestock without government permission. People can take their shotguns to their neighbor’s property, but if children ride their horses at the local show, or a farmer gives a couple chickens to a neighbor, they invite Big Brother into their barns and their farms.
Ultimately, NAIS will deliver no significant health benefits, while creating serious economic and personal hardship on thousands of animal owners.
What can I do?

The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance is a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the rights of farmers, ranchers, and livestock owners. Visit our website at http://www.farmandranchfreedom.org for more information on NAIS and to sign up for our mailing list.

Contact your Representatives and Senators, telling them that Congress needs to explicitly limit USDA’s authority and to stop funding NAIS through our federal tax dollars

Find out what is happening in your state. For some states, this information can be found at www.libertyark.net. If your state does not have information posted, contact you state Department of Agriculture.

For more information, contact Judith McGeary, Executive Director, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, at (512) 243-9404 or Judith@farmandranchfreedom.org

¹Judith McGeary is an attorney in Austin, Texas, and the Executive Director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance. She has a B.S. in Biology from Stanford University and a J.D. with high honors from The University of Texas at Austin. She began her legal career by clerking for the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Since then, her practice has focused on environmental law, commercial litigation, and appeals.
She and her husband run a small farm with horses, cattle, sheep, and poultry.